I heard in disbelief recently when the present Menteri Besar of Terengganu say – with some exasperation – to a bemused audience in London’s Malaysia Hall that their toughest task is to change the minda of the people. It’s kinda cute isn’t it that people who seem to be the least possessed of such minda are now ruining and burning our cities in Malaysia with the kitsch of their desires and telling us without the slightest hint of irony that they – they – are the saviours of our soul. And what is minda for them if not money?

The curse of Terengganu is that it has too much money and too little people. No, it is not underpopulated, but the people who govern us are dwarves, little people with big delusions of grandeur.

They have already destroyed most of our heritage; they have razed down Kampung Datuk Amar to build an ersatz Ottoman market, and they have pulled down two old mosques that were parts of our glorious history. All in the name of minda, I dare say.